No sooner did they pull the liquor license out, they pulled it back in Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright restored the liquor license of the Gold Club, one day after Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell suspended the license of the strip club at the center of a federal indictment alleging money laundering, credit card fraud, prostitution and Mafia connections.
Gold Club lawyer Alan Begner requested the hearing on an injunction that would lift the suspension, which he contended was done without a hearing. He said the suspension could shut down the club, leaving its 700 employees jobless during the holiday period.
Wright held a 15-minute hearing and agreed that a hearing was needed.
She ruled that the situation was of concern, but not of an emergency nature to allow immediate suspension of the license.
No date was set for the hearing. The club resumed serving alcohol shortly after the hearing ended.
Campbell called the accusations against the Gold Club "serious and troubling," in suspending the liquor license Monday after federal prosecutors last week announced that the club and 16 people - including Gold Club owner Steve Kaplan - was part of a racketeering indictment.
Officials allege that the club was connected to organized crime, provided dancers as prostitutes to celebrities and professional athletes, bribed police and stole thousands from patrons by overcharging their credit cards.
